Costa Rica

The Bri-Bri tribe has lived for many centuries in the Talamanca Cordillera (the country’s highest) and has managed to preserve its vernacular language, customs and traditions. The tribe is practically the only native one remaining which still maintains its own identity in Costa Rica (however, it is fully integrated into national life in all its aspects) and as such has been given special attention by the State, particularly as regards health and education and the protection of its native values. Indeed in that part of the country there is a cultural radio station which broadcasts programs in the Bri-Bri language. There is also a newspaper written exclusively in Bri-Bri- It is interesting to observe the traditional folk ceremonies of the Bri-Bri tribe, especially those performed within their religious and cultural context and which have been preserved by them for many hundreds of years. Through  its cultural and linguistic bodies the University of Costa Rica has prepared a grammar book and a spelling book of the Bri-Bri language which have been invaluable tools in the training of people to collaborate with the Bri-Bri tribe.

Bordering the Caribbean Sea on the Atlantic side of the country there stand the port installations of the Port of Limón and also those of Moín terminal. These installations have all the necessary equipment for the movement of general merchandise, the export of bananas, coffee and the new mode containers. It can also handle the transfer of crude petroleum which is pumped to the nearby national refinery.

There are three main ports on the Pacific ocean side; these are Puntarenas, Quepos and Golfito, the latter two of which were designed and equipped for banana export. At present Puntarenas is a docking port for ships coming from various parts of the world, be they commercial or private, and there is still a considerable amount of activity there in spite of the fact that the main activity has moved to the nearby port terminal of Caldera standing a few km to the south of Puntarenas.  All these ports are linked to the capital by land or by air and in the case of Limón and Puntarenas, also by rail. In the Gulf of Nicoya, in the west of the country facing the Pacific Ocean, there stands a port which has a very special features; this is the sugar port of Punta Morales which was designed and equipped exclusively for the export of cane sugar, an important mainstay of the national economy.

Notwithstanding the enormous marine wealth of the country, which has increase dramatically with the tenfold increase in Costa Rica’s territorial waters; the country has a small-scale fishing industry. Both the small fishing fleet and scant infrastructure for deriving benefits from these natural resources are still in their infancy and are only now receiving significant help from the state. Up to now they have counted on the help provided by friendly nations, particularly Taiwan and Spain, the state supports and encourages the formation of cooperatives. Taiwan collaborates in investigations into better fishing methods and sea-fish farming; Spain cooperates in the training of sailors and in the improvement of fishing-ship design by means of the National Trade Institute. Fishing as a sport is more highly developed and has special areas for sport competitions, specially as regards the fishing of sailfish and bass, which attract both amateurs and professionals from the country itself and from many others countries around the world.